The Boar’s Helen Trappelides declared MCC Young Female Broadcaster of the Year

The University of Warwick’s very own Helen Trappelides, a 20-year-old English Literature student, has won the MCC Young Female Broadcaster of the Year award.

The award, which was launched last year, aims to increase opportunities for young women looking to join the sports broadcasting and the sports journalism world in general.

Despite not remembering having signed up to the mailing list, Trappelides received an email advertising the opportunity and decided to give it her best shot.

As The Boar’s Film Editor, Trappelides said she is “very involved with the student newspaper at university [as] it allows me to be a bit more creative and free with my writing outside of my degree”.

UWWCC members remarked the admirable way Helen threw herself into the game and club as a beginner

She has also written Sport articles, most recently about Sir James Anderson’s career and Chelsea WFC. When asked what interests her about sports broadcasting and journalism, Trappelides discussed the “storytelling aspect”. On reading her article on Jimmy Anderson, her storytelling skills are clear to see in the way she writes about his “record-breaking, wicket-toppling, career”.

The MCC award judges took into consideration Trappelides’ multifaceted relationship with cricket, describing her as “the presenter, the player, the interviewer”.

Indeed, over the last academic year, Trappelides became a vital part of the University of Warwick Women’s Cricket Club (UWWCC).

She joined the club at the beginning of her second year and will be going into her third year as the club’s democratically elected Publicity and Campaigns Officer.

This competition and Helen’s success are part of a larger push for women’s involvement in cricket

UWWCC members remarked the admirable way Trappelides threw herself into the game and club as a beginner, attending socials and frequently playing in the team’s first eleven, primarily, but not exclusively, as a batter.

Mriganka Nawale, the first eleven’s new captain, described Trappelides as a “fun and lively team player” who spends sessions “working with our coach and other players to make her a very capable player”.

The award has not only gone to a dedicated writer, then, but also a true team player.

As part of the award’s prize, Trappelides was able to take part in live interviews on Sky News with Mel Jones, an Australian cricketer-turned-commentator.

At The Hundred final, which Helen described as a “reduced cricket format designed to get more people to watch cricket”, she will join the Sky broadcasting team with the opportunity to interview players live.

This competition, and Trappelides’ success, are part of a larger push for women’s involvement in cricket – both the sport and the tradition, as well as sports journalism.

Data from the National Council for Training of Journalists (NCTJ) shows a growth in the number of females registering for sports journalism courses in the UK, rising from 14% to 20% between 2023-2024. However these numbers are still below the NCTJ’s target of 25%, indicating the lack of representation for women in the world of sports journalism.

Trappelides said one of her favourite things about cricket is being a woman in cricket. “It’s pretty cool that I’m able to play a sport which breaks down those gender stereotypes”, she tells me.

“Cricket is a women’s sport too and I hope that more women at Warwick will join this fantastic team next year.”

Congratulations to Helen for winning this amazing award! As her teammate, I will say it couldn’t be any more deserved.